Hands-on: The Nook Color
I finally got my Nook Color a week ago from a friend who had just arrived from a business trip from the US. I tell you, I loved this eye candy the first time I saw it, I loved it more when I get to use it for the first time. This is my first and only ebook reader so I can't compare it with its counterparts in the market today. It has been around since November of last year at the earliest, so this may came out late. But still I wanted to talk about my own experiences.
So I'd like to start with the package. My friend who bought it never opened the package even after insisting a few times to give it a test drive while she's still in the US. So in a consumer's point of view, it's as immaculate as it could get. The crack to the opening at about one-third to the bottom was a successful attempt at getting my attention. Opening the box by literally breaking in two was a refreshing experience. The rims are equipped with magnets that do all the snap open/snap close thing. The upper part contains the unit and the quick-start guide. The lower part on the other hand contains the charger which also doubles as a USB connector if the cord part is pulled from the main adaptor.
Charging
The USB cable on the microUSB end emits an orange light on the Nook logo while charging. This turns green when charging is complete. Unfortunately, the gadget will not charge while connected to a computer. I could do without the feature but that would definitely be a nice addition to the Nook color’s portfolio of features (which for an e-reader/tablet, is quite limited actually). The quick guide said not to use the gadget until the charging completes. But I can’t wait for a full 3 hours, as the guide suggested, to use my nook for the first time. The Hardware
I like the overall look of the device. The hook at the lower left corner seems to be practically useless but it adds to aesthetics a thousand times. Simple and elegant.
Mostly it’s made of plastic. I can actually feel it creak beneath my fingers. It’s also unbelievably heavy considering it’s relatively thin at only 0.48 inches. Experts suggested that the internal battery may have contributed much to the weight in order to deliver that needed power. This is always the trade-off I guess but not really a big issue considering the magnitude of the books it can contain.
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The back is mostly rubberized with the microSD slot at its most auspicious position near the corner hook. You just have to lift the magnetic bar to reveal the slot. It can support up to 32GB of extendable memory.
The 7-inch screen sports an IPS display with 16 million colors. It’s crisp as any colored display as can be. And there’s no eye strain especially me who made my living staring at a computer monitor the whole day. I just had to adjust the brightness to near minimum when reading indoors. It’s just a matter of preference actually. And unlike the e-Ink displays which revolutionizes the ebook experience, it’s really not a good idea to read under the sun. For all it’s glory and the advertised “less glare”, it’s not an e-Ink. Period.
The grip is pretty sturdy and easy to the hand (despite the weight) as compared to the Ipad (I have seen and get to sample one, so I know).
But as they said, what’s with beauty without brains right? The internals of the nook color boasts a TI OMAP 3621 (ARM Cortex A8-based) CPU clocked at 800MHz. Don’t cry if you don’t understand much. It just tells us that the main processor called OMAP 3621 and manufactured by Texas Instruments has the speed of 800MHz. If you still don’t understand that, let’s just say you have one decent machine at your hand.
It has 512MB of RAM and an 8GB of internal storage though I can only see the 5GB of this storage for my own personal use. B&N may have reserved the “lost” 3GB for the gadget’s own internal applications. It can connect to Wifi but not 3G. I was able to connect to my home wifi but for some still unknown reason, I could not make it to the public WiFi’s. Bummer, right? I still had to figure that out one of these days.
The battery (in the Nook’s case is internal) can only last up to 8 hours if Wifi is turned off as compared to e-Ink which could run up to several weeks without charging. Again there’s the trade-off. Having said that, I still have to go for the colored Nook. Why is that you said? Because Nook Color is more than an e-reader.
The Software
Nook Color runs on Android OS. Yes, it’s the same thing that powered some of the high-end smartphones today. HTCs, Samsungs (including Samsung Galaxy tab), etc. But unlike those phones, the Android’s capability in the Nook’s case is very limited to a basic e-reading device and basic Internet connectivity which is always the case if the device is marketed as just an e-reader. That means you’re still getting your money’s worth.
When booting for the first time, we are directed to an instructional video which is a very good overview on the extent of your device capability. Then the registration to the B&N website page pops up. This is an essential part of the B&N business model. After all, B&N sells books and Nook Color is just a medium to their main business.
The main home page contains the downloaded books from Barnes and Noble. And unfortunately, I still had to figure out how to add my own books into the home page. But I guess this is not worth the effort since you can always access your books easily from the book shelves. You can always go back to the home page by pressing the embossed Nook logo in the lower part of the device. The soft key just above the Home key opens the book shelves, the extras, B&N bookstore shopping, the internet and the settings.
The Reader
According to B&N’s specs for Nook color, the device supports files such as EPUB (both non or Adobe DRM), PDF, and other document types as XLS, DOC, PPT, PPS, TXT, DOCM, XLSM, PPTM, PPSX, PPSM, DOCX, XLX, PPTX. The reader is very basic with no animation when flipping pages (Ipad still holds the record for such feature).
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So here are a few basic things I like about the reading capability of the nook:
- Crisp pages with various options for letter size, gaps between lines, margins and reading mode (I always set this latter to gray to minimize the brightness).
- Ease of bookmarking, highlighting and adding notes. Memorizing the last page accessed on the book.
- Group together books by adding personalized shelves
- Sharing capability to Facebook and other social networks (update: this feature is available only for books purchased as B&N).
- Dictionary.
Here are also a few things that B&N should have considered adding.
- PDF is supported but text are not flowing. Meaning the original text sizes relative to the page is fixed even if you rotate the device to landscape view. Also, there are PDF files whose contents are not supported by the current Nook stock reader.
- Entering words to dictionary is through highlighting the word only. It would also be better if I had the option to manually enter the word. Or by highlighting words in the dictionary definition.
- Home screen should not be limited to B&N books only. Wishful thinking?
- Comics support (CBZ, CBR, etc. I’m a geek, whatup!)
The internet browser is very decent and very fast (of course also depends on your connection). Aside from the reader, this is the other heavy feature of the device.
Browsing the news…
Or checking the stocks
Or checking Facebook, or mail or porn…
On the downside, there’s no flash support so I can’t do bank transaction through BPI expressonline. There’s also originally no pinch zooming which is the main feature of phones running Android. Recently though, B&N released a minor update to add the zooming feature.
The video
The introductory video upon booting the Nook for the first time promises a smooth playback. Unfortunately (and unfortunately indeed), the nook supports only MP4 video format. Even that, by merely converting your video to an MP4 format does not promise that the video will work as expected (read: it won’t). Why is that? The nook’s MP4 codec can only support a few video specs. And when I say a few, that means a very specific parameter. After a few research, I found a perfect solution to this problem. I downloaded the video converter Handbrake (http://handbrake.fr/downloads.php). Then by following the exact procedure here, I was able to play a High-Res video on my nook smoothly.
Sweet, right?
On the downside, the Nook’s speaker is horrible. The stereo is not quite good in today’s standard even through a headphone. But hey, B&N only promised an e-reader right?
The B&N shop, The Music Player, Pandora
B&N only allows online purchases if your registered billing address is in the US. For now, I don’t have the need to buy a book online so this is hardly an issue. For all I know there’s a tweak to get around this restriction. Just be resourceful and you’ll get what you need. The Pandora internet radio does not play in the Philippines. Still not a big issue. I haven’t used the music player yet. Maybe because I already knew that the Nook’s audio is not that good. Still not an issue. I have a smartphone that can do just like that.
But the Nook Color is an Android…
I know. And we save the best for last. The Nook color runs on a restrictive Android OS. It restricts to access only the essential applications but the hardworking guys at XDA virtually destroys that restriction. Gaining access to the Android’s Linux subsystem is called Rooting (equivalent to Apple’s Jailbreaking). This way, you can modify the files and add applications and features that is essentially absent in the stock ROM of the device.
So far, I’ve done the autonooter (only applicable to Nook Color firmware version1.0.1) on my Nook color. At first, I thought I have bricked my device. It didn’t boot the first attempt. But I eventually get things right. The key here is to read and understand the instruction very carefully. And if you’re ready to risk your nook (make or break…literally), follow the instructions in the link to autonooter.
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| Extras: you'll be surprised what' more to ereading |
Now if it fails, don’t panic. There’s always a rollback procedure here. Most of the time it worked (well, it worked for me).
So if the rooting process is successful, you’ll have now a vast option of customizing your nook. It is now essentially a cheap Android tablet. A few of my concerns are now addressed. The Adobe reader X handles opening PDF books (and everything nook PDF reader can’t handle) and with text flow. I can now read comics in CBR and CBZ formats. I can even read Kindle books. I browsed the internet using Dolphin HD which had a few more features and extensions than the stock browser. I can manage my files. I can play Angry Birds (just feeling the urge to highlight that out).
But wait, there's more! Nook Color was even demoed to run the latest Android Honeycomb.
I am now getting more than my money’s worth. And this is what compelled me to buy this tablet posing as an e-reader in the first place. I love my Nook Color. It revolutionized my reading habit. At $249 (roughly around Php11K), it’s one of my few purchases that I didn’t felt remorseful after. Would I recommend this device? Without a doubt, of course. There are quite a few drawbacks, yes, especially if you had an Ipad or a Samsung Galaxy tab in mind (or if you want to go a bit far, consider Motorola Xoom). But I want an e-reader basically. The colors, the internet, and everything that goes with it are added bonus.
Nuff said.
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